


As the Years Go By

by hypermoyashi



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff, Found Families, Gen, Grief, Hospitals, M/M, Minor Jae-Ha/Kija (Akatsuki no Yona), Modern AU, Past Character Death, aro/ace su-won, mildly su-won centric, questionable medical accuracy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:01:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27887209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hypermoyashi/pseuds/hypermoyashi
Summary: Yona was happily in a relationship with Hak and living with her new giant family, but one regret soured her happy present. The childhood friend she'd so cherished, the one she and Hak shared so many memories with, was missing from her happy ending. Perhaps that was meant to be, but Yona wouldn't be satisfied until she at least got the chance to speak with him again. Then, she'd know for sure.Or the one in which Yona reaches out to find Su-won after a bad fight and the subsequent years of no contact.
Relationships: Son Hak/Yona, Soo-Won & Yona (Akatsuki no Yona)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 18





	As the Years Go By

**Author's Note:**

> The spellings for particular characters I chose to use are as follows:  
> Su-won  
> Yun  
> Gi-gan  
> Jea-ha  
> Shin-ah
> 
> If anyone knowledgeable on the subject wants to let me know if these spellings are inaccurate/wrong or if other common fandom spellings are more correct, please let me know!

“Yona, where do you want this?”

“...as expected of Kija,” Hak noted dyrly, and Yona could feel his weight against her back and head as he leaned over to get a better look. True to form, Kija was carrying a bookshelf all by himself, and while it wasn’t nearly as heavy as it would’ve been if she hadn’t removed her books, the ornate and hefty design of the wood meant it wasn’t exactly light, either.

“Ah, right over there is good…” She pointed, and he managed to give her a quick thumbs up before setting the whole thing down right where she asked.

An airy laugh came from the doorway that couldn’t be anyone but Jae-ha. “Are you trying to show off to Yona, Kija? Or me? You’ll pull something if you’re not careful.”

“I will not!” Kija immediately snapped back, only for his face to go red when Jae-ha’s earlier words registered. “I-I’ll go get more things to move!”

He tried to dart out of the room, only to be blocked by the fact Jae-ha was still standing in the doorway. This only seemed to make Kija’s blush deepen, until Jae-ha stepped aside and he was finally able to fully flee.

That was… odd.

“Droopy eyes,” Hak said, leaning farther into Yona’s back, to the point her head was tipping towards the ground. “Did you do something to the white snake?”

“Depends on what you mean, but either way, I doubt you’d want me to regale all the illicit details,” Jae-ha replied, giving them both a wink for good measure before following after Kija. Though, he hadn’t been carrying anything…

...Wait, did he just imply…

Tired of being used as a glorified armrest, Yona finally stepped to the side, allowing her boyfriend to pitch forward and catch himself only through the saving grace of his reflexes. “Was Jae-ha joking, or do you think he and Kija have started dating?”

“Who knows,” Hak snorted. “It’d be faster to ask the white snake than droopy eyes. The fact he’s still flustered about it and not proudly proclaiming it means they might not be official yet.”

“So… Jae-ha’s just flirting, then?”

Hak only shrugged, but Yona could tell from his expression that he was filing the information away for later. Likely to mess with one of them, but ah, that was just the way their relationships were. Hak only messed with the people he cared for, anyway.

She smiled herself, her heart feeling light. “If they haven’t gone on a real date in a few weeks, we should have a family meeting about it. Sans them, so we can do something.”

“Something sneaky?” His grin matched hers, only with his characteristic mean streak shining through it. “I like it when you get sneaky. It’s sexy.”

“I can be sneaky,” she protested. “And besides, if it’s for the sake of my family’s happiness, I can definitely be sneaky!”

He snorted. “I’d like to see that.”

“You’re just avoiding moving things. I’ve moved more stuff than you have, Hak. Let’s go help Kija before he really does pull something.” She was halfway out the room as she spoke, and sure enough, Hak followed her without complaint.

“What, is he an old man now? Well, he already has the hair.”

“Hak, hurry up!” she chided, but she laughed as she said it.

These days… They were, without a doubt, her happiest.

-/-/-

“It looks rather sad now,” Jae-ha noted. “Our Yona is all grown up… She’s moving out on us…”

Yona couldn’t help but smile. “I only moved down the hall, Jae-ha.”

“I’ll make sure she comes and visits,” Hak added dryly.

“Hak and Yona are officially sharing a room now, a perfect way to mark their one-year anniversary! Jae-ha, you should be congratulating them,” Kija insisted, his voice loud enough to have Jae-ha shoving a finger into his ear.

“Yeah, yeah, hear you loud and clear… Kija dear, why don’t we go and see how Yun and Zeno are?” The change in gears was abrupt, but luckily enough, Kija was always fairly easy to persuade. He nodded and let himself be carted off, and with a smile, Yona stepped forward to follow them, only for a tug on her sleeve to stop her.

She craned her neck back. “Hak?”

“You gonna run off and leave the rest of it to me?” he asked, flatly. “I want a nap, you know.”

“I’ll help, I’ll help,” she assured, rolling up to her toes so she could pat his head. “But you know… I was thinking about something.”

Without another word, Hak stepped into the empty room that used to be solely hers and sat against the wall. He propped his arm up on his knee, then his chin up on his arm.

“Hak?”

“I’m listening,” he said. “Come on.”

She huffed and slowly followed him inside, sitting against the wall next to him. Had he realized she wanted to mention something important, that this would take a moment? When he curled his hand around hers, she felt he must have, and she wondered when she became so easy for him to read.

“Yun and the others have been debating what we’re going to do with this room, now that I’m not using it anymore,” she started, shuffling her feet. Hak’s hand was warm in hers, and it gave her enough comfort for her to smile as she spoke. “It would probably be best to give it to one of the four guys—”

“I think Kija and Jae-ha won’t mind continuing to share a room,” Hak remarked, and when Yona glanced at him, he was smirking.

She laughed. “You might be right. To Shin-ah or Zeno, then, since they’re still sharing… But it made me remember. Don’t misunderstand me, I love everyone, with my whole heart. I’m very happy now, and the happiness I had as a child… If it meant giving this up, I wouldn’t wish for it back. I can’t imagine a world where I don’t have you by my side, where Yun doesn’t chide everyone about chores and while making dinner, where Jae-ha doesn’t tease everyone, where Kija isn’t his enthusiastic self, where Zeno’s smile isn’t bright, or where Shin-ah isn’t soft and warm.”

Hak was silent, and although he didn’t really say anything, the slight squeeze of Yona’s hand was all she needed. He was just as happy here as she was, even if he wasn’t the type of person to put those feelings into words.

“My point is…” She trailed off and let herself absently trace circles into the back of his hand for a moment before she continued. “When we were children, I always imagined it would be you, me, and Su-won. The three of us, together.”

Hak stiffened, and she thought that might be the case. “...Why bring that up now?”

“It’s been years,” she said. “I think… He said some mean things, but Su-won isn’t the type to do things without a reason. You said so yourself. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken, too… I want to talk to him again.”

“Are you sure?” His grip on her hand was almost crushing now, far from the comforting warmth it had been moments before, but the last thing Yona was going to do was complain.

She squeezed back, and she hoped he found it comforting. “I’m okay, Hak. The fight… I was hurt at the time, but it was also so close to father’s death… I’m okay now.”

A part of her felt guilty, that Hak had cut ties with Su-won because of a fight that had nothing to do with him. Another part had always been grateful, to know that Hak would always stand by her side, no matter what. Even if it meant straying from Su-won’s side.

“So you want to talk to him again,” Hak finally breathed, his grip on Yona’s hand relaxing.

She smiled sadly and nodded. “I do.”

“Why?”

She chewed her lip for a moment, wondering how to word this. It was Hak, so she didn’t want to hide anything from him. “It’s always bothered me, the way things ended. It was so different—he seemed so different—but it also feels like a waste to let a relationship I had for so long and that was once so dear end so quickly and abruptly over one fight. A part of me has always regretted it. This is my family, but he’s family too, even now.”

“I see.”

“I know you may not feel the same way.” She shuffled her feat, wishing she had decided to wear her hoodie so she could pull it over her head and hide her face like Shin-ah so often did. “It was… really messy. We both said a lot of things to one another. I’d never seen him angry before, so… I don’t know. I don’t remember it well, anyway.”

It was the truth. For some reason, the entire conversation was hazy in her mind. At first, the conversation and poisonous thoughts surrounding it had crept into her mind and grown like a thorn, but after some grief counseling and finding a family, those thoughts and feelings had withered to the point where she couldn’t fully remember them herself. There were still there, of course, but they were now a dull ache, a wound that had long scabbed over and scarred. It didn’t hurt as it once did.

It was strange. At the time, she knew the feelings had been overwhelming enough to feel like she’d never escape them, but time proved a far greater medicine than she’d given it credit for.

And suddenly, Hak was on his feet again. In the process, he’d broken Yona’s hold on him, and she blinked up at him. “Alright, Princess. If that’s what you want, I’m here to support you.”

“Princess?” Despite herself, she felt her face burned. “You haven’t called me that in years.”

“Well, we’re going on a trip down memory lane anyway.”

His words were teasing, as they so often were, but his expression was still hard enough to have Yona finding it somewhat forced. She pursed her lips and asked, “Hak, did anything happen between you and Su-won? Something you haven’t told me about?”

He froze, and she knew she’d nailed the issue on the head. Hak wasn’t exactly one to be forthcoming about his feelings, not unless he felt it was important the other party knew, which wasn’t often. Heck, even then, if he couldn’t figure out how to bring up the topic or communicate the issue, sometimes he just wouldn’t share at all.

“Who knows,” he finally said. “I don’t understand what he was thinking.”

With that, Hak left the room, leaving Yona to wonder.

-/-/-

Dinner was always a loud and lively affair, and Yona wouldn’t have it any other way. Their apartment was actually two apartments with one wall missing—damage from the previous tenant, according to Gi-gan, but it was convenient for their purposes—but it was still cramped with all seven of them gathered around one table.

It hadn’t exactly been a planned thing. Hak was having trouble with the landlord of his previous apartment, while Shin-ah and Zeno both ended up needing a place to stay at the same time. When they started looking, Gi-gan mentioned losing two tenants at once after some damage and them running off without paying the bill. Jae-ha suggested renovating it to fit all of them for kicks and giggles, but, well…

It ended up becoming an actual thing.

They had been here for three years now, and it was nice having a landlord who wasn’t terrible. Hak called it a dream come true. Yona loved it, as well. In fact, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else with anyone else now, so much so that when she’d mentioned that off-handedly to Gi-gan, she’d said she’d be willing to sell the apartment to them entirely.

It was an enticing idea, but one that would have to wait until they had the finances for it. Even if Gi-gan was willing to give them a discount, Yona didn’t want to rush into something like that.

That night was the same as any other night—the seven of them piled around the table with food stacked high on their plates. It was always a bit noisy, but Yona always listened with a smile and chipped in when she wanted to. Even Shin-ah was making a few remarks here and there. The only silent one was…

“Is the mister feeling okay?” Zeno leaned over the table, having been the first one to finish his food.

Hak focused on Zeno, and he apparently realized the remark had put him at the center of everyone’s attention. “I’m fine.”

“Oh?”

“Did you and Yona fight?” Jae-ha teased, only for Kija to ram his elbow into his side. It sent Jae-ha sprawling the floor, but Yona could tell from his expression that he was playing it up.

“Don’t be rude!”

Hak only snorted.

Yona scooted closer to him. She raised a hand to poke his cheek, unperturbed when he swatted her fingers away. “Hak… If you’re not comfortable with what we talked about earlier, we don’t have to.”

“No,” he huffed. “I’m just thinking.”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Yun commented flatly, earning him another snort from Hak.

“Is something… going on?” It was Shin-ah speaking this time, and of course, he spoke so seldom and was so soft-spoken when he did that everyone immediately quieted to listen to him. But after he’d said his bit, the eyes turned back to Yona and Hak.

Hak gave her a look that said he didn’t feel like explaining, and she could only sigh. Yona wanted to tell them, it was just… awkward. For lack of a better word.

“I was thinking… I have an old family friend I had a fight with a while ago, right before he moved out of the city. He was Hak’s good friend, too, but both of us lost touch after that. I thought now might be a good time to try and get back in touch with him,” she said finally. She looked down at the table as she spoke, only raising her head once she’d finished.

“...This wouldn’t happen to be _that_ old friend of yours, would it?” Jae-ha asked, a sudden light to his eyes that always showed itself when he’d found some juicy gossip.

“...Have I mentioned him before?” Yona wondered. Sure, he was no longer the same sore spot he once was, but she also couldn’t remember telling any of them about him explicitly. It wasn’t as though she’d been trying to hide Su-won’s existence from them, it was just that, by the time she would have felt okay talking about it, it had already become a habit not to mention him.

“Here and there, if Zeno remembers right,” he chipped in.

“Was he Hak’s bi awakening?” Jea-ha asked.

Hak snorted. “I didn’t have a crush on Su-won.”

Yona blinked, and without thinking, her fingers found their way to Hak’s sleeve. If he’d gone along with it, then it would’ve meant he actually never had a crush on Su-won. That was he denying it meant he definitely did. “Really, Hak? How come you never told me? Is that your type? Do you think he’s cute?”

“Cuter than our dear Yona?” Jea-ha pressed. “How scandalous!”

“I wouldn’t describe him as cute,” Hak grumbled. “Anyone who can at least stall me in a match is pretty good. Yona isn’t cute either, for the record.”

Yona pinched him for that.

Still, though… The conversation was a bit nostalgic. It’d been years since Hak had competed, but he and Su-won used to practice martial arts together. She remembered going to a few competitions to watch them, and she regretted that she’d always declined their offers to teach her at the time. She knew Hak didn’t compete anymore, though he still practiced from time to time with his adoptive family.

Yona hid a smile behind her hand as Hak glared at Jae-ha.

“So the way to the thunder beast’s heart is fighting, huh.” Yun popped a bite of meat into his mouth, his expression unsurprised.

“I’ll remember that,” Yona said as she brought her hands up into fists. “Hak, let’s fight.”

“...You might die,” Jae-ha warned, at the same time Kija turned on Hak to screech, “Don’t beat up Yona up!”

“If the princess wants to fight, who am I to deny her?” Hak was smirking, which was enough to put a pout on Yona’s face.

“Take me seriously, or I’ll make you regret it,” she huffed. Hak had actually taught her a few things of what he remembered from when he was actively training, but she still hadn’t done nearly enough to rival him. She spent most of her adolescent and adult years up until a year or two ago avoiding any and all physical activity, after all, so she wasn’t gonna be able to compete overnight sadly. She’d been hoping she was some sort of prodigy, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Then, she caught his gaze, and she found him looking surprisingly serious. “I do take you seriously, princess.”

“...Something makes me doubt that.” Maybe it was the fact he was still using his old nickname for her, for one.

“Okay, you rare beasts, let’s get back on topic.” True to form, Yun raised his utensil to point back at Yona, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “Reuniting with the old family friend. You said he moved after the fight, so do you have his new address? Or his phone number?”

“...I don’t think he gave me the new address.” She bit her lips and fished around in her pocket to pull out her phone. It wasn’t the same one she’d had at the time, but she didn’t remember deleting him from her list of contacts… “Ah, his name is still here! I can try calling him?”

“Now?” Yun raised an eyebrow.

“Why not? It’s not like there’ll be a better time,” Jae-ha remarked.

Yona frowned and quietly tucked the phone back into her pocket. “I think I’ll wait a bit… Something tells me it’s not going to be that easy. Let’s finish the food Yun worked so hard to make, first.”

No one had any objections to that, at least.

-/-/-

Everyone was on-board and supporting her. Yona knew this, and she was happy for it. But she still felt the need to steal away once dinner was finished and sit in the empty skeleton of what was once her room, staring at Su-won’s name in her list of contacts.

Something told her it wouldn’t be as easy as simply dialing his number and being able to speak with him again. In all these years, he hadn’t sent her one card or text or email. If he wanted to talk with her, he would’ve reached out himself. Wouldn’t he have?

And Su-won wasn’t the kind of person who could be easily pinned down, either… Even now, she didn’t understand where his anger or cold attitude had come from during their fight. It was as though he was another person, entirely different from the warm, bubbly, and intelligent person she was familiar with.

She knew a little better now. If she had once thought Su-won wasn’t capable of anger or despair, that was because of her own ignorance of others. Everyone felt that way, even if only sometimes, no matter how big a smile they wore.

Perhaps she had failed, in that regard. Not that she felt what he had said was alright or warranted (at least what she remembered of it), but maybe she failed in regard to being unable to accept all facets of him. After all, a person’s anger was just as important as their happiness. Once, she had only wanted to know what made a person smile while shunning what made them cry. A fair weather friend… She didn’t blame anyone for not wanting to be her friend, when she’d been like that.

She was different now. Or at least, she hoped she was.

Drawing in a breath, she dialed the number and pressed the phone to her ear.

_“The number you are trying to reach is no longer in service…”_

She hung up with a rueful smile. Of course he’d changed his number. Whether it was to avoid her or Hak or just because of the amount of time that had passed, she wouldn’t be able to say. It’d been years. No matter what the reason, finding him again would be difficult.

Yona slapped her cheeks, the stinging in her cheeks overpowering the stinging in her eyes.

She wasn’t giving up this easily.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! Feel free to visit me on my [tumblr](https://hypermoyashi.tumblr.com/)


End file.
